


JJBella Week November 2017

by Zetal (Rodinia)



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-07 05:57:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12834759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal
Summary: Day 1 - Biggest FanDay 2 - Date NightDay 3 - DowntimeDay 4 - Free DayDay 5 - O Canada!Day 6 - SeasonsDay 7 - Wedding





	1. Day 1 - Biggest Fan

JJ had somewhat mixed feelings about his fanclub. Fans were nice, of course, don’t get him wrong! The idea that people would pay to have early access to tickets, merchandise, news… it was a head rush. They showed up at his competitions, and with a good cheering section, it was easy to go out and put on a great show.

When his fans got a little… excessive… JJ even had a good way to put it in perspective. Otabek wasn’t a member, but he was a fan of a Russian novice skater who already had his own fan club that was earning quite the reputation for being creepy, obsessive, and frequently out of line. Yuri’s Angels were anything but.

The one thing he didn’t like was the name. JJ’s Girls not only sounded a little weird, like he was creating a harem, but it was kind of exclusionist. Not all of his fans were girls! That was one thing Yuri’s Angels had over JJ’s Girls – if Otabek ever did decide to join, it wouldn’t be weird.

The fan club was nice, but JJ didn’t need it to know he was loved. His parents weren’t just his coaches, they were his fans. His siblings were almost all supportive, and really, Raphael and Marie-Rose shouldn’t count considering they were babies and therefore too young to really understand skating. Even in his family, where as soon as you had the coordination to manage you got skates and skating lessons.

At school, he had a lot of good friends. He also had friends in the skating world. Otabek was both, now, having just moved to Canada to train with the LeRoys. It had made JJ’s day to hear that Alain had offered to coach Otabek and that Otabek had accepted the offer. It would be great to have someone around who understood.

But there was one person who stood out even more than Otabek. Isabella Yang had been JJ’s classmate for years, she’d just started working at the rink, she was an officer of JJ’s Girls, and she was cute. No, she was gorgeous. She was smart. She was sweet. Despite being in JJ’s Girls, she never treated JJ like a celebrity. JJ would never believe anything other than that Isabella was in large part responsible for the good behavior of JJ’s Girls, by being a role model and a good example.

Someday, JJ hoped Isabella would be the mother of his children. For now, though, he was focused on a much more immediate goal. One step at a time, after all. He hoped Isabella would go to the school’s Halloween dance with him. Not like they’d gone last year, as friends, but on a real date.

Otabek sat next to him as they changed out of their skates. “You okay, JJ? You seemed a little distracted today.”

“I was. A little. I’m nervous.” JJ checked the laces on his skates. He’d need new ones soon. “Are you going to the Halloween dance?”

“I wasn’t planning on it. I was gonna spend some time watching Grand Prix skates on YouTube. Prepare for the Finals.”

“Man, next year, you need to be in it with me. Kick some ass at Four Continents and Worlds, okay? Not mine, but silver will get you into the Grand Prix too!”

“I’ll try. I’m not going to get on the podium at Worlds, though. I should make the free skate, I’m hoping for top 12, but the podium’s out of reach. Too many skaters who are better than me still.” Otabek got his skates off and started rubbing his feet. “So what are you so nervous about? The Halloween Dance or the Cup of China?”

“Skating’s skating. I can do that.” JJ looked across the rink to where Isabella was helping kids pick their skates. “I’m planning on asking Isabella to the dance. Today.”

Otabek looked up, eyebrows drawn together. “Dude. Don’t do it while she’s at work.”

“Why not? I mean, I get why that’s in general a bad thing to do, but we’ve been friends forever and she has to know that I’m not gonna try to get her fired if she says no.”

“Just… don’t, okay? Wait until she gets off. It shows her that you respect her. Not that she doesn’t already know that, but you know. Starts things off right if she says yes.”

JJ thought it over. Otabek was probably right. It wasn’t unusual for JJ and his siblings to stick around the rink after practice anyway, so no one would question why JJ was doing his math homework in the bleachers. He might even get his history project done, if he worked hard enough and didn’t get distracted.

Once Alain LeRoy started the lesson for the six-year-olds, Isabella came over to sit by JJ. “Hey. How hard is the math? I need to get started on that tonight.”

“It’s not too hard, not if you followed the practice problems carefully yesterday. Which means you’ll have no problem at all with it, not if I can get it.”

“Heh.” Isabella slid a little closer. “JJ, can I ask you something?”

“Uh, sure.” JJ tucked the paper into his math book. “What’s up?”

“Would you consider dating a fan?”

“Depends on the fan. I’d hope my girlfriend was a fan of my skating, but I don’t want to date someone who only wants to be with me because I’m a famous skater.”

“Okay, but if she convinced you she likes you for you, you’d go for it?”

“Well, if there was something there, that spark that made me think the relationship would work…”

Isabella made a noise of frustration. “JJ, I’m trying to ask you to the Halloween dance. Why are you being so difficult?”

“You give me vague questions, I’ll give you vague… wait, what?”

“I’m your biggest fan, but I’m also your friend. I think we’d be good together. Will you go to the Halloween dance with me?”

“Yes. I’d love to. I was going to ask you when you got off work today.”

“Well, I’m on break. Close enough, right?” Isabella reached out and took his hand.


	2. Day 2 - Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of yesterday's fic: JJ takes Isabella to the dance.

Coordinating costumes turned out to be easier than JJ expected. He and Isabella met at the costume shop and both looked around independently. When they met up to talk ideas, JJ’s first suggestion was James Bond and a Bond girl. Isabella had already picked out a possible Bond girl outfit – it wasn’t based on anyone in particular, but she’d seen enough movies to know how they dressed. “I’m not going around wearing a bikini or nothing but gold paint.”

“I doubt you’d get that past the dress code even if you did want to.” JJ went back and grabbed the Bond tuxedo. “Let’s try these on, see how we look!”

They looked good then, and even better when JJ slicked his hair back and Isabella got her lipstick. She looked amazing, and JJ eagerly offered her his arm when they were dropped off at the school. She smiled at him and took it. “You look good in a tux.”  
“Thanks! It’s James Bond style!” He winked at her as she giggled at the joke. He got the door for her as they walked in. They were almost immediately greeted by some friends.

“Wow, you look so cool, Izzy! You gonna be okay dancing in those heels?”

Isabella shrugged. “I think so! I mean, it’s not like this is a fancy ballroom competition, it’s bouncing to the music and I’m sure we’ll get the Cha Cha Slide and Gangnam Style and probably Teach Me How to Dougie. Worst that happens is that I make a fool of myself, right?”

“Probably. I wouldn’t be brave enough to do that on a first date.” Kayleigh giggled and let go of her date Cole’s hand. “Boys, go get us drinks.”

Isabella let go of JJ’s arm and narrowed her eyes at Kayleigh. “Please?”

JJ didn’t listen too hard to the bickering, instead taking Cole and going to get drinks as requested. When he got back, they were done with their fight. Isabella thanked JJ when he gave her the drink. They danced – Isabella was fine in the heels – and generally had a good time.

After an hour or so, Isabella made a face at something over JJ’s shoulder. JJ turned to look – Kayleigh and Cole were making out. “Do they have to do that here? Can’t they take it somewhere private?”

“Not a fan of PDA?”

“No. And before you ask, it’s not going to change just because I’m involved.”

“I wasn’t going to.” JJ squeezed her hand. “This is the first date. PDA or not, that is not a first date thing!”

“First date, huh? You’re that confident about getting a second?”

“Since, technically, you asked me out so I know you didn’t just say yes to be nice, and you seem to be having a good time… yes. I am that confident you’ll agree to a second date, as long as I treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”

“Oh? And how is that?”

“With respect, consideration, dignity, honor, whatever else you want to call it. You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do. I was just teasing you, JJ. We’ve been friends how long? My mom told me that if I want to know what a man will treat me like, I should look at the way he treats his mother, and for the most part, you’re very sweet to her. You can start considering me your girlfriend whenever you want to.” She paused, and then added, “I like the confidence. Just so you know.”

After the dance, JJ’s dad picked them up and took them to an ice cream shop. JJ bought ice cream for himself and Isabella, while Alain stayed in the car. Once the ice cream was gone, Alain drove them to Isabella’s house.

JJ walked her to the door. “Go out with me next week?”

“Of course.” She kissed JJ’s cheek. “Is a real kiss a first-date thing?”

“It can be, if you’d like one. It doesn’t have to be.”

Isabella rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, still. “And this is the downside to dating a good Catholic boy, they don’t always pick up on invitations. Kiss me, silly.”

“Oh!” JJ hadn’t really expected this, or he’d have… done something to prepare, anyway. Probably talked to Cole. Still, it was Isabella’s first kiss, too, so she would probably understand if something went wrong. Remembering her opinion of PDA, and knowing that his father was probably watching despite pretending he was engrossed in his phone, and who knew who from Isabella’s family was watching from a window, he kept it to a short peck. If Isabella’s blush was anything to go by, she didn’t mind a bit. “Good night, Isabella.”

“Good night, JJ.”


	3. Day 3 - Downtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer vacation for JJ and Isabella.

It didn’t take long for JJ and Isabella to settle into being boyfriend and girlfriend. By Christmas, they were deeply in love; by the end of the school year, they were chosen as “couple most likely to marry straight out of high school”. As far as the LeRoys were concerned, Isabella was one of them.

With school out, and skating being in the off-season, JJ and Isabella had a lot more free time to spend together. JJ still had practice, Isabella still worked at the rink, but other than that, they had no real responsibilities. JJ did spend a lot of time with his brothers and sisters, and Isabella started hanging out with them as well. She and Andrée quickly became friends, since Andrée was the only one who was old enough to put on ice who didn’t skate. She still came to the rink most of the time, because it was just easier than trying to ferry kids back and forth between the rink and the house.

Once practice was over, JJ and Isabella usually spent the afternoon with one or more of the siblings. JJ’s favorite was hanging out with Cécile since they were both interested in music, while Isabella liked hanging out with Thérèse and hearing the stories she came up with. Some days, they’d take off on their own and do their own thing.

Nathalie worried over how little time Isabella was spending with her own family. “Don’t get me wrong, dear, we love having you around. You’re good for Jean and it’s great that you’re getting along with everyone else. I just don’t want you to abandon your family…”

“Don’t worry about it. My parents are at work all day anyway, and my brothers and sisters are all older than me. Jacob’s working full-time too, Hailey’s taking summer classes and working on her senior project, and I would go hang out with Ryan and his family, but they’re in Edmonton, it’s a bit far to go. If I weren’t here, I’d just be hanging out with other friends or sitting at home alone anyway.”

“Well, all right.” Nathalie hugged Isabella.

 

Isabella was there the day Michael left the ice in frustration. Andrée asked Isabella to go check on him – he was hiding in the office and wouldn’t talk to Alain or Nathalie.

“Go away,” Michael said as Isabella opened the door. “I’m not coming out. I hate skating!”

“Why?”

Michael's head poked out. “Isabella?”

“Yes." She took a seat beside the desk where Michael could see her without having to make eye contact. "What’s wrong, Michael?”

“I hate skating. I suck at it.”

“You look pretty good to me…”

“As long as no one asks me to do any tricks, I’m okay, but Claude can already spin better than me! I don’t want to be a figure skater.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. Something where I don’t have to dance or spin or jump. Speed skating, maybe? I think I’d be good at that. I can go fast. Or hockey! I bet that would be fun! I know Mom and Dad want us all to be figure skaters, but I don’t want that. I’m not good at it. Why should I have to do it?”

“Talk to your parents. You shouldn’t have to stick with it if you’re not good at it and you don’t like it, but that’s something you need to talk to them about.”

Michael's head popped back out. “Will you help me?”

“I’ll be there, but you need to do the talking, okay?” Michael nodded and came the rest of the way out from under the desk.

Alain and Nathalie took it well, and promised to sign him up for a youth hockey league if he would keep working on basic skating until they found a good one.

 

Evenings were JJ and Isabella’s time. They would go to the movies, meet up with friends from school, whatever they felt like doing. Occasionally JJ would have something to go to with sponsors, and he’d started bringing Isabella with him as well. One of those sponsor meetings got a little weird.

As usual, JJ introduced Isabella as his best friend and girlfriend. Most sponsors took that in stride, but this one got a huge smile. “So should I start putting you in contact with wedding companies? If you two did a celebrity wedding, you could probably get everything paid for.”

“I’m seventeen. I’m not planning on marrying Isabella any time soon. For one thing, we’ve still got two years of high school to go, and diploma then wedding ring is the order Mom and Dad always taught me.”

“But you are planning on marrying her, right?”

“I hope to, but she gets a say in that too, you know. We hadn’t talked about it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I just assumed since you brought her that you were engaged or something.”

“If she were my fiancée, there is no way I wouldn’t have said that.”

From there, the meeting went smoothly, but afterwards, JJ squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry about that. I wasn’t going to even bring up getting married until we were getting close to the end of high school.”

“Good idea, because I’m not taking an engagement ring from you until I’m eighteen.” Isabella leaned against his shoulder. “I love how you say best friend first, then girlfriend. It makes me feel so safe.”

“It does?”

“Yes. Did you hear Kayleigh and Cole broke up?”

“No… when? Why?”

“A couple days ago, and because Kayleigh got bored and realized that she and Cole don’t really have anything but romance between them. If I’m your best friend too, you’re a lot more likely to try to work things out instead of just getting bored and moving on.”


	4. Day 4 - Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ takes Bella to France with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one just to get it up. Sorry about that. Stupid week anyway. (This real-world week, not JJBella Week. JJBella Week is awesome and if I thought it was stupid I wouldn't participate.)

Through junior year, JJ worked his butt off. He had every intention of moving up to seniors the next year. He’d wanted to move this year, but his parents wouldn’t let him. They said he should wait until the worst of the growth spurts were over with, and JJ reluctantly went along with it. At least it meant he and Otabek and Leo were still in the same bracket, and it also helped that one of his Junior Grand Prix qualifiers was in August, before school started.

With the Yangs’ permission, he invited Isabella to come along. He wouldn’t ask her to skip school for him, but there was no reason she couldn’t come to Courcheval with him. Isabella agreed, and with school not being in yet, they decided to bring all the kids. Isabella had thought family vacations with her family were complicated when her brothers and sisters were home and there were two adults wrangling four kids. How two adults would manage twelve… 

It worked out surprisingly well. Raphael and Marie-Rose were left with Nathalie’s sister, so that they wouldn’t have to take babies on the plane. JJ and Andrée helped make sure the younger kids were supervised, and when JJ couldn’t help due to practice or meetings, Cécile stepped up. Isabella helped out as well, once she got used to it. For the competition itself, all nine of them were in the stands cheering for JJ.

Isabella had been to skating competitions before, but not on this level. It was fascinating to see all the glitter and pomp and circumstance – and then to see that in the important ways, it was exactly like the regional competitions she’d attended in Toronto. The skaters were a blend of confidence and nerves, coaches pushing their students to get in whatever the right mood for them was, and the fans were supportive of their favorites and hopeful that they’d get to see a good show. Isabella wondered if it would be like that at the Olympics, too.

JJ won, and Isabella was so proud of him. She couldn’t go to other competitions, because of school, so it was special to get to be here with him for this one.


	5. Day 5 - O Canada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> JJ in his last year in Juniors has some lofty goals.

At Canadian Nationals, Isabella got to see something she’d never seen before. JJ was acting like a complete ass. While she’d seen him behave this way to competitors and them acting the same way to him, he was being an ass to his parents, to his brothers and sisters, to her. After he made Claude cry with his teasing, Isabella grabbed his arm and hauled him off to find some privacy. It wasn’t easy, in a hotel with so many other people around, but she managed.

Door closed, hands on hips, Isabella glared at her boyfriend. “What is wrong with you, JJ?”

“Nothing! Claude’s just being over-sensitive.”

“Claude has always been sensitive. Normally you know that and you don’t go telling him he’s going to be a disappointment like Michael – which, by the way, Michael’s not a disappointment either!”

“Sure he is. Hockey?”

“You’ll change your tune when he’s playing for the Maple Leafs one day.”

“It’s not figure skating.”

“No, it’s not." Isabella bit her tongue and counted until she could focus. "But we’re not talking about Michael, we’re talking about you. You’ve been so rude all day, to everyone, and it’s not like you. What’s wrong?”

“Maybe it is. Maybe I’m always like this at competitions and you just don’t know because you never come.”

“I don’t come more often because I have school. You were so surprised I wanted to come to this one!”

“You’re missing a week of school for no good reason. I can’t believe you would do that.”

“Supporting you is a very good reason. It’s finals week, and I took my finals early, just like you did.”

“But you should have had more time to study! What if you didn’t do well?”

“I did fine, JJ. So did you. Besides, you weren’t like this in Courcheval, and you’ve never been like this at the regional competitions I’ve attended…”

“There wasn’t as much riding on Courcheval, and regionals are easy. This is Nationals, Isabella!”

She reached out and put a hand on JJ’s cheek, making him look up at her. “Tell me why this one’s so important, then. Help me understand.”

“I’m going to seniors next year. If I can’t beat the juniors, what chance do I have in seniors? If I do badly here, I’m the disappointment. Mom and Dad expect me to win gold. They’re so sure I will that they’ve already booked hotel rooms and flights to Estonia!”

“JJ, you are not a disappointment. Your parents might be disappointed if they have to cancel, but that is not your responsibility! Your mom and dad love you, they want you to do well, and that’s all we care about. You go out there and do the best you can. Put on a JJ-style performance for us all, and we’ll take whatever results you get.”

“Even if I’m last?”

“Even if.” There was no way he would be, Isabella wanted to scream at him, but that was beside the point. “Come on, honey. We all believe in you, so try to have a little faith in us?” JJ nodded and accepted Isabella’s hug with warmth. “I don’t understand why this is bothering you so much, though. You’ve been here before…”

“You haven’t.”

Isabella held JJ close. “JJ. Honey. I’m here to support you, not to add to the pressure. Sure, I would love to say I’m dating the national junior men’s figure skating champion, but that’s not why I’m with you. I love watching you skate because you love skating. I’ve loved you since before I’d ever seen you skate.”

“Really?”

“Really. If, God forbid, you go out there and suffer a career-ending injury and never skate again, I will still be right there beside you, supporting you and helping you figure out what comes next.”

“We were like twelve when you first saw me skate!”

“Then you should know that my love isn’t going to go anywhere.” Isabella hugged him tighter.

“Good.” JJ gave her one last squeeze. “I have some brothers to apologize to. Coming?”

 

Isabella was not normally the insufferable type, but her friends all just rolled their eyes and agreed that okay she probably deserved to be a little insufferable. She was dating the national junior men’s figure skating champion, after all. She came back down to earth after a few days.

When she was dating the world junior men’s figure skating champion… even Isabella thought she was being a little insufferable. She accepted the detention she got for standing up in the middle of class and singing O Canada when they hung the gold medal around JJ’s neck with pride.


	6. Day 6 - Seasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon Year, projected through Worlds.

Isabella and JJ graduated high school in June. They were both going to university in Toronto, so they didn’t have to worry about moving. JJ had also set some huge goals for himself in skating: he wanted to win the Canadian grand slam: gold at the Grand Prix, Nationals, Four Continents, and Worlds. To do that, he’d need to spend the summer training as hard as he could, which Isabella understood and supported as long as he remembered to make time for her off the ice.

When assignments came out, JJ was confused. “Where’s Viktor?”

Isabella shrugged. “In Japan still? He’s actually serious about not skating this season to coach Katsuki? I never thought it would happen, but he did go out there…”

“Wow. I guess so. I wanted to beat Viktor at the Finals, if I didn’t get a chance at him in qualifiers. I guess I’ll have to settle for beating his student and his mini-me in Russia.”

“His mini-me?”

“Yuri Plisetsky. Beks says he’s going to be Viktor’s heir. I can see why he’d think that – the kid’s good, they share a coach, get Yuri some experience and he’ll probably be my biggest rival. Beks says Viktor even choreographed his short program for this season.”

“Oh, Yuri’s the skater Beks liked so much. Are you skating against Beks either time?”

“No. He doesn’t get Yuri, either, I get him twice. Good luck for Beks, at least, he doesn’t have to get through me to get to the Finals! Yuri can get both silvers, so he’ll probably be there, too. That should be fun!”

 

School started that fall, and JJ and Isabella enjoyed their time on campus. It was very different from high school, but good. The more flexible schedule was very nice, allowing Isabella to work full-time at the rink and JJ to plan practices for more convenient times than very early in the morning.

Fall brought two major trips. The first one, Skate Canada, happened in October. JJ won gold, with silver going to Yuri. Isabella didn’t much like Yuri, but she would play nice, because JJ wanted to be friends with him, because Beks did. Why Beks was so interested in Yuri, Isabella had no idea. Something to do with skating and ballet and soldiers. Yuri didn’t think much of JJ, though, and Isabella wasn’t sure that JJ wasn’t hurting Beks more than helping by trying to befriend him.

In Russia, it got even worse. Yuri was even angrier with Viktor and Yuuri around, and then Viktor left and drafted Yuri’s coach to look after Yuuri for the free skate. At that point, Isabella started doing what she could to keep JJ away from Yuri. Even if they were lucky and Yuri didn’t murder JJ, it could cause problems for Beks. JJ came away with another gold medal, Yuri with silver, and both of them, along with Yuuri and Otabek, would be at the Finals.

They celebrated with a huge party back home in Canada, with many extended relatives and friends visiting. Cécile and Julien would also be competing in Barcelona, in the junior bracket, so it wasn’t just about JJ. He picked then to do something she’d known was coming soon. The ring was beautiful and she couldn’t wait to start showing it off – although she did worry a little bit about the declaration of getting married after he’d won his grand slam. There were several skaters who could beat him for at least one of those; what would happen if he didn’t win all four? She remembered the mini-meltdown he’d had before, when he felt too much pressure on him. Would he hold up this time?

 

Christmas season in Barcelona was beautiful. The skating competition… less so. JJ had seemed to take it well when Otabek blew them off, but Isabella saw the signs in how he doubled down on the asshole behavior toward his competitors. This time, JJ wouldn’t let her help him. He kept insisting that he was fine, just disappointed that Viktor was there as a coach instead of a competitor. “Although maybe if he’s a good enough coach, he can keep Katsuki from melting down like he did last year. Did you see his free skate?”

“I did. He’s recovered from that pretty well, though, making it back here.”

“He’s just going to crash again.”

“You’re being an asshole.”

“I’m just saying.” JJ held up his hands at Isabella’s glare. “Fine, whatever.”

Isabella had never seen JJ skate as poorly as he did in the short program, but it didn’t matter. She started the chant, but she could see through the bravado when he did his JJ style pose. It would fool his fans, but it wouldn’t fool his parents, and it definitely wouldn’t fool her. She played along until they got back to their hotel room.

JJ took one look at Isabella and sank onto his bed, letting the tears come. “First event of four and I’ve already blown it. How do I come back from this? How do I go out for the free skate? I should fake an injury and withdraw.”

Isabella sat beside him. “Don’t you dare. You can’t. If you do, this will get in your head even more, honey. You need to go out there for the free skate. The podium’s still within reach!”

“I’m going to need help to get there, babe. I don’t want it, not if it means someone else messed up too.”

“You can still go out there and remind everyone that you’re King JJ and one bad competition won’t knock you down for the count. There’s still Nationals, Four Continents, and Worlds, honey. You can do this. Do it for me.”

“I promised you a grand slam before we got married.”

“Katsuki’s probably not getting the gold either. He’d have to break Nikiforov’s record to catch up to Yuri. Do you really think Viktor isn’t going to marry him as soon as he can convince Yuuri to get to the priest… or whatever they’re gonna do for the ceremony?” Finally, she saw a real smile from JJ. It was small and somewhat shaky, but it was real. “I still demand proper time to plan and arrange everything, but I’m not marrying you for the gold medals. I love you. No matter what.”

“You’ve said that before.”

“Was I lying then?”

“No, I don’t think so. Which means I’ll trust you now.”

 

JJ’s bronze at the Finals helped him push himself through the winter. Gold at Nationals was easy enough, silver at Four Continents a mild irritant because he lost to Katsuki, and then he missed the podium entirely at Worlds – Katsuki, Viktor, and Otabek all beat him, although he did get over Yuri. JJ had struggled a bit with some jumps, but not unreasonably so. The others just outskated him. Isabella started preparing herself to deal with JJ being an asshole until she could smack some sense into him, but… he was perfectly normal. He was even somewhat nice to Yuri. “That growth spurt had some bad timing, huh? Better luck next year.” Otabek still had to hold Yuri back, but he was smiling about it.

Once they were back in their room, Isabella had to ask. “You’re okay. This is really you being okay with not medaling. What’s different from Barcelona?”

“Katsuki and I talked, that free day after Barcelona. He thought I had anxiety, and while I thought he was just projecting and trying to make excuses… I decided it couldn’t hurt to make an appointment with a counselor at the school. He was right. I’m still disappointed, I still feel like I’ve let so many people down, but I can see what the most important things here are. God has his reasons and will help me through this. Mom and Dad have already started talking about what we can do for next year. I need to be a good role model for the others, losing with grace instead of throwing a fit. You’re still right here, and you’re not going to give me back that ring and tell me that since I didn’t medal I’m not good enough. There’ll be setbacks, I’m still gonna need you to call me out when I’m being an asshole to compensate for the fear, but right now, I’m good.”


	7. Day 7 - Wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Background Otayuri.

JJ agreed to Isabella’s suggestion of getting married after Worlds 2018. It was a long engagement, but it gave them time to plan and organize and not have to worry about Otabek or Leo or any of JJ’s other skating friends being able to make it. Isabella was a bit surprised when the RSVPs started coming in and Otabek was bringing Yuri as his date.

“They’re not actually dating, you know. They’re just friends,” JJ reassured her. “Beks just isn’t interested in dating anyone else either so he was either going to bring his best friend or his sister.”

“I know they’re not dating. If they were dating, I’d have expected Yuri to be willing to come. I’m not confused by Beks wanting to bring Yuri, I’m surprised that Yuri agreed to it.”

“Yuri likes me more than he lets on, and he likes you except for your taste in men. More importantly he likes Beks enough to do anything Beks asks him to.”

“Why aren’t they dating, then? Because Beks has been in love with him for years.”

JJ shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe Yuri’s straight. Or it’s because he’s seventeen and Beks doesn’t want to deal with idiots.”

“Maybe.”

Yuri behaved himself, avoiding JJ as much as possible and being civil to him when avoidance wasn’t an option. JJ said the bachelor party was fun but not too much fun, which made her roll her eyes a little. “Honey, I trust you. You don’t have to tell me you didn’t have too much fun at your party. I don’t care if they got strippers.”

 

The wedding itself was beautiful. They’d chosen to do a full Mass with their wedding, and the ceremony was perfect. Isabella was glad her big sister had talked her into waterproof makeup. She’d sworn she wasn’t going to cry, but as her dad walked her down the aisle, it just started. JJ didn’t seem to mind, and Isabella saw the tears in his eyes as they exchanged their rings. The kiss, naturally, was perfect as well.

Isabella started crying again as she danced with her father. “Thank you, Dad. You’ve been so amazing and supportive. I know you don’t like that I’m getting married so young…”

“Honey, I love it. You and JJ belong together. I hated it for Hailey because she and Devon hadn’t known each other two years, but this isn’t the same. You’ve known each other since you were kids, you’ve been through some tough times together and come out stronger for them, and I don’t see any reason why you should wait any longer.”

Isabella was starting to get tired when it was time for the flower toss. JJ, somehow, managed to get the garter straight into Yuri’s hands when Yuri was only in the group under protest. Isabella, obviously, wasn’t watching, but JJ told her that Otabek pulled off some ridiculously high jump to steal the bouquet from Sara Crispino.


End file.
